Facts: Tahoma Terra filed an application with the respondent city of Yelm to develop a 32 acre parcel of land into residential lots. After the application was approved, petitioner J.Z. Knight, a nearby property owner who holds senior water rights, filed a Land Use Petition Act (Washington Revised Code §36.70C) petition in the Superior Court for Thurston County that asked the superior court to reverse the county’s decision. Knight asserted that she has an interest in obtaining water connections when she develops her undeveloped property and that her senior water rights would be directly and adversely affected by Tahoma Terra’s proposed development. The superior court granted the petition. Upon appeal, the Washington Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Knight lacks standing to file a petition because her injuries are too remote. Knight appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does Knight have standing to file a Land Use Petition Act petition challenging the approval of Tahoma Terra’s development application?
Conclusion: Justice Wiggins’ opinion for the Court reversed the Washington Court of Appeals and reinstated the superior court’s decision, concluding that Knight has standing to challenge the approval of Tahoma Terra’s development application. Specifically, given that she has senior water rights within the same aquifer as Tahoma Terra’s proposed source of water for the proposed development and given that there is allegedly insufficient water to serve the proposed development, her injury is sufficiently immediate and specific.
Docket No. 84831-9 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 38581-3)
Petitioner: J.Z. Knight
(Counsel: Keith E. Moxon and Michael Barr King)
Respondent: City of Yelm
(Counsel: Richard L. Settle, Roger A. Pearce, Patrick John Schneider, Kathleen Callison, Curtis R. Smelser, Averil Budge Rothrock, Colin Jeffrey Folawn, and Aaron Matthew Laing)
Briefs:
- Answer of Tahoma Terra
- Answer of Yelm
- Appellant City of Yelm Brief
- Appellant Tahoma Terra Brief
- Celp Amicus
- City of Yelm's Statement of Additional Auth
- Petition for Review
- Petitioner's Statement of Additional Auth
- Reply of Tahoma Terra
- Reply of Yelm
- Respondent Knight Brief
- Supplemental Brief of Petitioner
- Supplemental Brief of Tahoma Terra
- Supplemental Brief of Yelm
- Yelm's Answer to Celp Amicus
Argument: Thursday, May 26, 2011 9:00am
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Prevailing Party: J.Z. Knight (Petitioner)
Vote: 7-2
Citation: Pending
Court: Madsen2 Court (2011-)
Madsen
Johnson
Alexander
Chambers
Owens
Fairhurst
Johnson
Stephens
Wiggins
Opinion
Dissent
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form.